Hamtramck Business Owner Shocked By Explosion

HAMTRAMCK (WWJ) – Elias Uddin, the owner of a travel business in Hamtramck, said he’s in shock following an explosion that wrecked the building and his business, at least temporarily.

“Of course I’m very shocked. Just last year I purchased this building and I spent a lot of money,” Uddin said. “And the business was running ok, but suddenly this happened. I’m very sad.”

The explosion occurred around 2:30 am Friday at The Krakowik Travel Agency building, located blocks away from downtown Hamtramck on Joseph Campau, north of Caniff. The explosion blew out windows of the Krakowik Travel Agency as well as nearby buildings. It also left aluminum building trim strewn across the street. Police had to close Joseph Campau for nearly four hours while the wreckage was cleaned up.

Investigators from Michigan Consolidated Gas Company, parent company D-T-E, and Hamtramck Police and Fire are still working to determine a cause of a building explosion.

“It’s unbelievable. I have no idea what happened. How come it’s an explosion? So how this happened, I have no idea,” Uddin said.

Investigators said it is only speculation at this point that the explosion was caused by a natural gas leak. Often there is a fire associated with such explosions; there was no fire in this case.

“When I came in late night, and I saw 7:00. I can’t even think of what happened or how come this has happened,” Uddin said. “This is just an office. Nothing is here.”

Uddin says he did not smell gas when he closed up the agency the night before the explosion.

The good news is that no one was injured in the explosion, despite a tenant being in an apartment at the back of the building, and blown-out window glass flying all the way across the street.

Uddin said he’s thankful his apartment tenant is okay, and says he will start looking right away for another building to get his business back up and running.